Machine for fixing locks, fastenings, and fittings to attache and similar cases



June 14, 1938. c, w CHENEY 2,120,693

MACHINE FOR FIXING LOCKS, FASTENINGS, AND FITTINGS TO ATTACHE' AND'SIMILAR CA$ES Filed Sept. 9, 1936 Ies WIHI CLm Chane the I INVE.NTOI

Patented June 14, 1938 MAcHINE FOR FIXING LOCKS, FASTENINGS,

AND FITTINGS T ATTAoHE AND SIMI- LAR CASES Charles William Cheney, Soho, Birmingham,

England Application September 9, 1936, Serial No. 100,005 A In Great Britain September 12, 1935 4 Claims.

This invention has reference to a machine for fixing pronged locks, fastenings and fittings, hereinafter referred to as fastenings, to preshaped case bodies: or lids of attach and similar .5 travelling cases'made of cardboard, leather, fibre and the like, hereinafter referred rial.

The invention particularly relates to a machine of the press class of the kind comprising a bed supporting a number of adjustable bottom tools and a plunger carrying a. number of adjustable combination top tools, the operation of the machine being such that when the fastenings are placed prong-upwards in the bottom tools the top tools descend with the plunger to force .the material, to which the fastenings are to be attached, downwardly for penetration by the prongs and hold said material under penetrating pressure while parts of the top tools operate to clinch the prongs, one or more fastenings being attached to the material for each descent of the plunger.

The above features are embodied in a machine forming the subject of U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,955,790 granted to me on April 24, 1934.

While the said patented machine marks a definite advance in the fixing of fastenings, it must be understood that in this machine the fastenings could be fixed to the material only when the latter was still in the form of a flat blank, that is to say, 30 before it was shaped into a case body or lid, because the particular construction of the said machine precluded a case body or lid on account of the side walls from being placed in position and operated on by said tools. As a result the flat blanks having fastenings fixed to them had to be subsequently shaped-up into case bodies and lids and then tobe sewn and finished, which is well-known tothose' skilled in the art to be a rather inconvenient operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine which admits of said fastenings being secured to case bodies or lids, which have been brought before into the desired shape.

The invention consists of an improved machine having the combination of parts hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the machine with the top tools lifted by the plunger action.

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of Fig. 1 but with the top tools removed for clearness of illustration and indicating in broken lines an attach case body having its final shape in a position ready for the fixing of fastenings thereto.

Fig. 3 is a plan,

to as mate- Fig. 4 is an elevation of a lock fastening to be fixed by the tools illustrated, and

Fig.5 is a sectional side view of a top tool.

The machine illustrated has the general characteristics of a press; a table 1 is supported by a frame 2 and is provided with a rigid rear pillar 3 having a vertical slide-way 4 on which a plunger head 5 is adapted to reciprocate. The plungerhead 5 rigidly supports a horizontally extending bar-like carrier 6 upon which a pair of tool holders are mounted to be longitudinally slidable from end to end and adjustable to any intermediate or central position, said tool holders I being adapted to be retained in adjusted positions by means of lever catches 8, carried by the holders, co-operating with spaced notches 9 formed in the upper edge of the carrier 6, and to be fixed in said positions by screw-actuated clamping devices Ill, l2. A tool holder 1 is first positioned through the lever catch 8 and afterwards the screw I0 is tightened to fix the holder to the carrier 6.

Said tool holders 1 are provided at their lower ends with forwardly disposed or offset projections l3, said projections being vertically gapped at M. The forward ends of the projections I3 are adapted to receive, in a readily detachable manner combination tools, l5, comprising an angular sleeve it to fit over the gapped end I l, a pressure plate ll vertically displaceable against a compressible spring l8, said pressure plate carrying pivoted clinching fiaps l9, and clinching pegs 20 rigidly fixed to the base of said sleeve. Each of said tools is adapted to be removably fixed to the oifset projection l3 by means of a lever catch 2|, the spring It being received in the gap M. The tools it are compactly constructed, that is to say, they are symmetrical and devoid of any abnormal projecting parts in their length, breadth and depth, and therefore do not preclude or hinder the tools actually working within a case body 22 (which is of main importance, lids being much shallower), irrespective of the dimensions, taking into consideration various commercial sizes. of cases now in use ranging from the smallest size of approximately 12 inches in length by 10 inches in breadth, and 4 inches in depth, to approximately 28 by 16 by 9 inches.

Tools 23 associated with the table I are alike in constructions, and are fixed upon slides 24 fitting within longitudinal dove-tailed grooves 24 within said table 1 whose upper surface is provided with notches 25 to be engaged by lever catches 26 carried by said slides to accurately position the slides with respect tothe top tools I5, said slides being provided also with clamping screws 21 cooperating with clamping plates 21 arranged in the dove-tailed grooves 24 to secure the adjusted position. Said tools are each provided with a recess 28 to accommodate the pronged-fastening lock 29 and a material-penetrating punch 39, said slides and tools being constructed and applied to the table substantially in accordance with my patent referred to.

As usual, a transversely adjustable back stop 3i and a longitudinally adjustable side stop 32 are associated with the table I, the former to provide an abutment for one longitudinal edge 33, and the latter forming an abutment for one end 34 of said case body 22, whereby the front or wall 35 of said case body is accurately positioned in relation to the tools to ensure that the fastenings are secured to said case body at predetermined localities. The back stop 3| is transversely slidable along dove-tailed grooves M in the table i and is fixable in any convenient position by clamping screws 31 and co-operative clamping plates 31 in said grooves 3| The side stop 32 is longitudinally slidable along a dove-tailed groove 32 in the front of the table I and is fixable in any convenient position by clamping screws 32 and co-operative clamping plates 32 mounted in said groove 32 The plunger head may be lifted and lowered by any convenient means. By way of example, the drawing illustrates a lever 36 fulcrumed at 31 to the rigid pillar 3 of the press frame and connected at one end to a link 38 of a treadle mecha nism (not shown) and connected at its other end directly with a slot 39 in the carrier 6 which is fast with the plunger head 5.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that by constructing the upper tools l5 compactly and offsetting them forwardly upon the carrier 6, said tools can operate inside the body of a case without fear of the tools fouling or damaging the material of the case.

It will be appreciated that as the top tools are slidable from end to end on the carrier and to any intermediate position thereon, a single pair of top and bottom tools may be adjusted and fixed in a central position on the machine for use in fixing single fastenings to case bodies and lids, the size of which calls for single co-operative fastenings only.

The operation of simultaneously fixing a pair of fastenings to a case body is as follows:

The slides 24 and the tool holders 1 are adjusted to bring each pair of top and bottom tools into vertical alignment and into predetermined spaced positions to suit the particular size of case to which the fastenings are to be fixed,'such positions being maintained by the aforesaid devices. The fastenings 29 are then placed prongsupward in the recessed bottom tools when the aforesaid material penetrating punches 30 engage the hole 4| in the front and back plates of each fastening and localizes the latter in said recess. The case 22 is held in position up to the stops 3|, 32 and the mechanism actuating the plunger head is set in operation. As the plunger head descends and with it the top tools l5, each pressure plate I! causes the prongs 42 of the fastenings 29 to pierce the material of the case body, the springs l8 offering sufiicient resistance to allow the prongs of the fastenings to pierce the material and lift the pivoted flaps l9- and finally, with continued downward movement of the plunger head, the clinching pegs; 20 clinch the prongs 42 against the inner wall of the case by means of the aforesaid pivoted flaps.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Machine for fixing pronged fastenings to bodies and lids of attach cases and the like, comprising in combination a table, bottom tools associated with and mounted for longitudinal adjustment on said table and adapted to receive fastenings in the prong-upward position, a plunger, means for actuating said plunger, a horizontal carrier movable with said plunger, tool holders mounted for adjustment on and along said carrier, forwardly offset projections on said tool holders, and tools applied to said projections to operate within a case body or lid.

2. A machine for fixing pronged fastenings to bodies and lids of attach cases and the like, comprising in combination a table, bottom tools associated with and mounted for longitudinal adjustment on said table and adapted to receive fastenings in prong-upward position, a plunger, means for actuating said plunger, a horizontal carrier movable with and disposed forwardly of said plunger, tool holders slidably mounted on said carrier for adjustment from end to end thereof, forwardly offset projections on said tool holders, and tools applied to said projections to operate within a case body or lid.

3. A machine for fixing pronged fastenings to bodies and lids of attach cases and the like, comprising in combination a table, bottom tools associated with and mounted for longitudinal adjustment on said table and adapted to receive fastenings in prong-upward position, a plunger, means for actuating said plunger, a horizontal carrier movable with and disposed forwardly of said plunger, tool holders slidably mounted on said carrier for adjustment from end to end thereof, forwardly offset projections on said tool holders, said projections having vertical gaps in their forward ends, and sleeve-like tools fitted to the ends of said tool holders, each tool comprising a pressure spring received in said gaps of CHARLES WILLIAM CHENEY. 

